Then from far away, he heard the throbbing of a motor, which grew
suddenly louder as it turned the corner of the road by the station. It
seemed to him to be going very fast, and the huge cloud of dust behind
it endorsed his impression. But almost immediately after passing this
corner it began to slow down, and the cloud of dust behind it died away.
At the edge of the road where Mr. Taynton sat, there were standing
several thick bushes. He moved a little away from the road, and took up
his seat again behind one of them. The car came very slowly on, and
stopped just opposite him. On his right lay the hollow where he had
thrown the useless halves of his stick, on his left was the corner of
the Falmer Park railings. He had recognised the driver of the car, who
was alone.
Morris got out when he had stopped the car, and then spoke aloud, though
to himself.
"Yes, there's the corner," he said, "there's the path over the
downs. There--"
Mr. Taynton got up and came toward him.
"My dear fellow," he said, "I have walked out from Brighton on this
divine afternoon, and was going to take the train back. But will you give
me the pleasure of driving back with you instead?"
Morris looked at him a moment as if he hardly thought he was real.
"Why, of course," he said.
Mr. Taynton was all beams and smiles.
"And you have seen Mills?" he asked. "You have been convinced that he
was innocent of the terrible suspicion? Morris, my dear boy, what is
the matter?"
Morris had looked at him for a moment with incredulous eyes. Then he had
sat down and covered his face with his hands.
"It's nothing," he said at length. "I felt rather faint. I shall be
better in a minute. Of course I'll drive you back."
He sat huddled up with hidden face for a moment or two. Mr. Taynton said
nothing, but only looked at him. Then the boy sat up.
"I'm all right," he said, "it was just a dream I had last night. No, I
have not seen Mills; they tell me he left yesterday afternoon for
Brighton. Shall we go?"
For some little distance they went in silence; then it seemed that Morris
made an effort and spoke.
"Really, I got what they call 'quite a turn' just now," he said. "I had a
curiously vivid dream last night about that corner, and you suddenly
appeared in my dream quite unexpectedly, as you did just now."
"And what was this dream?" asked Mr. Taynton, turning up his coat collar,
for the wind of their movement blew rather shrilly on to his neck.
"Oh, nothing particular," said Morris carelessly, "the vividness was
concerned with your appearance; that was what startled me."
Then he fell back into the train of thought that had occupied him all the
way down from London.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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